Is an Exercise Bike Good Form of Cardio?

Working on an exercise bike definitely benefits the body’s cardiovascular system. You can work out your heart rate by way of doing sprint intervals in your exercise. With this, you can arrive and maintain your heart rate where you can get the most of the health benefits.

To determine the zone of your heart rate, just subtract your age from 220 and get your highest heart rate. The target rate you should aim for is between 60 and 80 percent of your highest heart rate. The intervals in the exercise bike can be altered by way of its speed or resistance.

With the intensity of the intervals, you need to do the routine between two to three times a week only. You definitely need to set a day to recover your strength.

Cardio vascular ratings

A panel of doctors, researchers and fitness gurus had once chosen the elliptical trainer as the cardio machine that is most effective in the gym. However, all of them stressed that whatever machine you are using can still give the right cardio workout.

The exercise bike scored the lowest in their choice because of the low pedal resistance it gives. Plus, the bike scored the highest in the boredom level. However, the surprise was that the bike did not lag far behind the others.

The treadmills scored the highest (88), the elliptical machine came in second at 80, the rowing machines followed with a 78, but the stationary exercise bikes scored a healthy 75. These scores are the cardiovascular effects the machines can give a person doing his exercises.

Intensity

Getting the best results for your cardio needs some intensity in your routines in the exercise bike. The routine usually starts with a 5-minute warm-up. Next would be doing about 150 minutes of moderate cycling. This is actually 75 minutes of intense cycling activity spaced out at intervals that will make it look like you are exercising on a daily basis.

Interval training is considered the best method in maximizing a cardio workout. The routine goes something like cycling for about a minute or two at your fastest efforts. This is followed by a one-minute rest.

Repeat the same cycle of short but vigorous effort and follow this up with the recovery one-minute rest. Do this for about 10 minutes. Later, you can move up to 20 minute long intervals, or even for 30 minutes as your body adjusts and your level of fitness rises.

Leg muscles / abdominals / upper body

The exercise bike is not all cardio oriented. It also works out and develops your body parts that move when you do the exercise routines. The first beneficiaries are the legs. With the right form, the workout also engages the other muscles, namely the abdominals and those in the upper body.

Another benefit is that the exercise bike is considered low impact, and is therefore the best for beginners because of its calorie-burning properties and its muscle-toning capabilities. When used to pedal briskly and vigorously, the exercise bike can give one excellent cardio exercise. Doing it frequently increases cardio fitness.